In the 64-team Trojan Classic, Rockwall made a big move on the second-day of one of the largest tournaments in Texas.
The Yellowjackets were in second place after the first day, 5 1/2 points out of first place. By Saturday, Jan. 10, Rockwall had 232 points and won the title by 34 points.
El Paso Eastwood took second with 198, followed by Cypress Bridgleand with 181 points and Trophy Club Byron Nelson was fourth with 162 points.
Rockwall won four titles and they all came in consecutive bouts from Hunter Gordon, Timmy Fitzgerald, Dominic Wilson and JaiChristian Washington.
That quartet accounted for 137 of the points for the Jackets.
‘We have family, like most teams don’t,” Washington said. “What we have keeps us together; we empower each other to do better and push each other.”
Gordon won the 144-pound crown in dominating fashion, besting No. 5-ranked Sebastian Santibanez from Bridgeland by a 21-5 tech fall.
No. 2 Gordon (37-3) had three tech falls and two pins.
Timmy Fitzgerald (150) followed with a 19-11 major decision against No. 10-ranked Dimas Sosa from El Paso Franklin.
The high-scoring match featured 17 points in the first period, with Fitzgerald up 9-8. The No. 3-ranked senior had tech falls with 19, 19 and 21 points and then two pins on the day.
The 157-pound finals was perhaps the best final of the tournament when No. 1-ranked Wilson squared off against No. 2-ranked Alexander Barros from Carrollton Hebron.
Wilson and Barros were scoreless through one period. Wilson escaped in the second period after starting on the bottom. In the third, Barros started on the bottom and escaped.
The 1-1 match was decided by Barros’ second stalling call with 14 seconds left.
Wilson improved to 33-2 with the win, going 6-0. Barros fell to 31-1 on the season.
Washington, a senior, wrapped up the title runs with a win at 165 pounds. Ranked No. 10 heading into the meet, he went 5-0 and won the Most Outstanding Wrestling award for the upper weight classes.
After four pins, Washington drew no. 6-ranked Breyden Jefferies-Arndt in the finals.
Jefferies-Arndt struck first with a takedown, but Washington nudged ahead 4-3 after the first period. An escape and takedown padded his lead to 8-3 going into the third period.
Jefferies-Ardt pulled within 8-6 early in the third period, but Washington secured the win by getting a reversal of his own with 1:26 left.
Jackson Stoner made the 285-pound finals but medically forfeited the title match to Lubbock-Cooper’s Ryder Hatton.
Stoner lost for only the second time this season with the forfeit. His other loss was in the finals at the Texas Outlaw the previous weekend against a wrestler from Kansas.
Brayden Davis (106) placed third for Rockwall.
Other DFW Champs
The Dallas metroplex teams combined for 8 of the 14 titles.
Along with the four from Rockwall, four other schools had one champion. Here’s a recap of those title runs.
120
Keller’s Drew Brinkmeier dropped down a weight class and took home first for the Indians.
Ranked No. 6 at 126, he went 6-0 with five pins. The only exception came in the finals, when he beat Argyle’s Tobias Gilman by a 26-10 tech fall — in a very football-like score in a wrestling tournament held in Euless Trinity’s indoor football facility.
126
With Brinkmeier dropping down a weight class, that meant there would be two top-10 kids in the 126 bracket.
However, they never met in this tournament.
The championship was won by No. 2-ranked Hunter Chipman from Haslet V.R. Eaton. The senior dispatched Mason Joe, ranked No. 11, from Austin James Bowie by a 17-6 major decision.
Joe, to reach the finals, knocked off No. 3-ranked Dominic Salazar of Keller Central in the quarterfinals by a 4-2 decision.
190
Another weight change happened for the 190-pound champion, Wyatt Davis from Irving MacArthur.
The junior is ranked No. 3 at 215 pounds, but dropped down and beat No. 6-ranked AJ Parchman from Keller by a 19-4 tech fall.
Davis won his other four matches by pins and is now 25-1 on the year.
215
With Davis dropping down to 190, Aidan Mayne became the top-ranked wrestler in the 215-pound bracket in this tournament.
Mayne, the state runner-up in this weight class last year, beat Keller’s Nathan Heck in the finals by a pin. All five of the wins by Mayne were by pin.
